


Dream is sick and everything is worse

by KittyKitty707



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Betrayal, Drowning, Execution, Feel free to yell at me in the comments, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Made Myself Cry, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I tested this in minecraft so it should be possible, Minecraft, Platonic Relationships, Plot Twists, Possession, Ranboos other half is human au, What Have I Done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29129064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyKitty707/pseuds/KittyKitty707
Summary: What if, the day before the Green Festival, Dream was suddenly sick, and unable to make his move as planned? How would this effect the SMP as we know it, and how would history have changed? I attempt to explore this possibility, and I hope you enjoy it!
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	1. A Sinking Feeling

#  Dream is sick and everything is worse 

## A Sinking Feeling

The day of the festival came. Just as it had been planned too. 

But something was wrong. The day before the festival. The day before the final showdown, Dream felt himself coming down with something. He wouldn’t be able to complete his plan, wouldn’t be able to frame Tommy as planned. Goddamit. 

Surely, there must have been something he could do. Something to keep the game playing, even during his absence…

He looked down at the copy of Ranboo’s notebook in his hands. A clever idea crept into his mind as he slowly tied his mask back on and stood up from his seated position on his bed. He knew just the person to give the book to cause the most damage while he rested.

“Dream? What the fuck are you doing here?”

Quackity looked over at the terrifying figure beside him. They were alone, and Quackity had no armor, while Dream was in full Netherite. Fuck. He had just wanted to finish up some last-minute preparations for the festival tomorrow.

“I don’t think I will be able to attend the festival tomorrow. I’m feeling pretty sick. Real bummer. I had some big plans for the festival. Really exciting plans.”

Dream wasn’t going? Then, what was the purpose now? What were they gonna do now, just have a normal old festival? 

“Y-yeah Dream. Really isn’t going to be the same without you.” He watched as the infamous man before him began to cough loudly into his arm, folding over weakly. Dream was barely in a state to fight. If only Quackity had his weapons on him, there was a chance he could… but it was still Dream he would be fighting. 

Dream righted himself and reached into his pocket. “Ahem. Sorry about that. Well, before I go, I have a little gift here for you. I trust you will be able to make some good use of this. Maybe you can find a use for it tomorrow if you catch my drift.”

As he grabbed the book gently from Dream, he looked puzzled. Why in all hell would Dream be giving him a “gift”? The book was called “Do not read” and contained someone's notes about them talking to…Technoblade and Tommy? There was a traitor in their midst? The more he read, the more he felt himself feel with disgust and rage.

“What is this?”

Dream smirked beneath his mask, “Oh, that little notebook belongs to-”

“Ranboo! It’s fucking Ranboo, Tubbo!” Quackity slammed the notebook down onto the table beside him. “These notes, these little thoughts he’s written down, they tell us how he’s been betraying us all. He’s been talking to Technoblade, Tubbo! He betrayed us all!”

Tubbo shook his head doubtfully. “Is this why you brought me here? To our secret room just to discuss how Ranboo is supposedly a traitor? I highly doubt that. You are convinced, just because you found some book that you think belongs to him?”

“I didn’t just find this anywhere, Tubbo. I got this from Dream.”

Tubbo face scrunched up at the mention of the name. “You saw Dream?!?”  
“Yeah, he wanted to say he’s not coming tomorrow, which ruins the whole point of this thing! Arg, we were so close to getting rid of him too!”

“And then he gave you this book? Why?”

“I have no idea. It’s Dream, for crying out loud, there must be something he’s gonna get out of this. I’m sure this belongs to Ranboo. It has to be him, it fits him too well.”

Tubbo grabbed the book off the table where Quackity had placed it. “Let me have a look.” The words, the writing style, the notes. Quackity was right, it seemed to fit Ranboo well. “No, it can’t be him. I know him too well he wouldn’t… He couldn’t have…” There was no way that he had done this, right? It must have been some misunderstanding, some sort of trick from Dream, right?

“Just show him it tomorrow. If this is true, I’ve got a good idea of a punishment that would fit his crime. We need a new big event for tomorrow anyways.” Quackity stretched his arms and put his butcher outfit into a chest nearby before going to leave. “Talk to me before the festival if you find the proof you need. I’ll get prepared in the meantime.”

And then Tubbo was alone with his thoughts and the book. The ink on the last few pages seemed pretty fresh, and all the notes fit well. He shook his head. No, there was no way it was him. Ranboo wouldn’t have done this sort of thing. Tubbo swiped upwards with one hand, bringing up a floating message menu. He put away the book for a moment and typed out a message.

“Ranboo, you have time to chat?”

“Sorry, almost done for the day. Can we chat tomorrow morning?”

“Sure, works for me.”

“See u tomorrow.”

Tubbo swiped the menu away again and peered down at the item for a moment in his hand before putting it away in his inventory. He should probably get some rest, tomorrow was going to be an exciting day.

“I’ll meet u at ur house” read the message from Tubbo. It was a bit early, but nothing he wasn’t prepared for. He still hadn’t found his notebook and it was making him extremely nervous. Why was it missing, why wasn’t it there? Did someone take it, and if so, who? 

“Ok, see u soon.” 

He petted Ranbone gently on the nose as he rifled through his chests again. It had to be somewhere. 

“Hello, Ranboo!” Tubbo cheerfully stated as he rather suddenly entered his house without knocking.

“Oh god, you scared me Tubbo! Give me a little bit of warning next time!” He laughed and patted his friend on the shoulder. “So, what’s up? Any news?”

“Well, Dream isn’t coming anymore. Seems he conveniently came down with something. We’ll have to find another “main event” to replace our original plan with him.”

“That sucks. At least we are gonna have some fun, right?”

“Yeah, of course, Ranboo.” Tubbo turned as if to leave but then stopped himself. He stood in the doorway, looking down for a moment.

“You got something else on your mind?”

“Now, I know this is going to sound really stupid and I know it is wrong but please just humor me with this. Alright?”

“Yeah, of course, shoot.”

Tubbo pulled the notebook out of his inventory and held it out in his hand. “R-Ranboo, is this yours?” Ranboo gently took the book from Tubbo’s hand. “I know it probably isn’t but I couldn’t stop thinking-”

“Yeah, it’s mine. My memory book, I’ve been looking all over for this. Where did you find it?”

“It is…?” Tubbo said with a drained look on his face. 

Ranboo scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, it’s my memory book. Helps me remember everything.” There was a pause as he tried to look Tubbo in the eyes. “I’m guessing from your expression that you-”

Tubbo gulped. “Ranboo, you do realize what you’ve done? Yes, I read it all. All your little notes. Your secrets.”

“Oh, you mean…the meetings…” He crossed his arms and looked away, uncomfortable with the glaring.

“You’re a traitor, Ranboo! You’ve betrayed L’manberg! You’ve betrayed me, Ranboo! I thought I could trust you!” Tubbo was almost yelling at him by this point. “How am I ever going to trust you again Ranboo? One of my closest friends and confidantes, committing treason behind my back?”

“Tubbo…”

“What? What have you got to say for yourself?”

“I…” Ranboo went to speak, but the words refused to form. They stood in silence for a few minutes as Tubbo stared furiously into Ranboo’s eyes, who tried to shift his gaze elsewhere constantly. 

Suddenly, Tubbo turned around, looking down at the ground. “Your actions are going to have consequences Ranboo. You've betrayed us all, and I can’t have this sort of thing happening regularly.” 

He opened the door and looked back at Ranboo for a moment before leaving, telling him “I hope you have fun at the festival tomorrow, Ranboo. It might be the last time you go outside for quite a while.” 

The house fell nearly quiet. Ranboo stood in the middle of his home, flipping through the pages contemplatively, before slipping out of his house, around to the back. He quietly jogged, passing the border of the country and continuing on. He quickly slipped on his armour and jumped into the water nearby, making his way into the obsidian room hidden below the surface. 

Ranboo leaned back against the wall furthest after taking the armour back off. As he looked down at the book in his hands, he slid against the wall down onto the floor, and sighed. He mumbled the words gently to himself as he wrote a single line into the book.

They stopped their writing suddenly, angrily shutting it and throwing the book against the wall.  
Tubbo’s staring eyes, those cold, harsh eyes, had messed up his mind somehow.

“This is all your fault!” He yelled as the book landed hard with a thud. “You ruined it all!”

The prolonged eye contact had pushed his feelings over the edge. He picked the book back up and groaned as he lied down on the floor. Ranboo put his copy of Mellholi into the jukebox beside him as he sat and thought to himself.

He hugged himself as he lay on the cold surface. “This is all my fault. I’ve betrayed them all.”

And then a thought went through his mind. He hadn’t truly betrayed everyone now, had he? 

Ranboo knew what he had to do tomorrow. He had to talk to Tommy and Techno. They needed to know about this. 

While everyone was grabbing snacks (mostly robbed from Ranboo’s house), Tubbo watched as Ranboo slipped away quietly from the crowd and off behind the houses. Strange. He was still pissed off at them, but the guy had memory problems and was still his friend. Things would be a little awkward for a while but then they could go back to normal. Be good buds again. Probably.

He had told Quackity earlier that day of how he had confirmed Ranboo’s guilt, and Quackity simply nodded, saying he “had something planned that would be a good punishment” and “not to worry about a thing, he would deal with it all”. Quackity could be a bit...extreme at times, so he hoped it was nothing too bad. If he went too far, Tubbo could just stop him. Probably.

Tubbo wasn’t really sure of anything at this point. He didn’t like the familiar yet eerie feeling he felt during the whole event. He was sure something would go wrong. Something bad would happen. But nothing would, he reassured himself. Probably.

Quackity messaged Tubbo suddenly, which shook him out of the trance he was in. 

“The sun is setting. It’s time.”

There was a short pause as they stared at each other from afar.

“Grab Ranboo. Bring him to the stage where I’ll be waiting.”

Maybe they should just call this off. He didn’t like this anymore, didn’t want to do this. It felt off. Tubbo was about to type when he got another message.

“Now. We need to do this at night.”

Tubbo nodded at Quackity and they ran off, as Tubbo urgently messaged Ranboo. Let’s just get this over with quickly.

“THEY FOUND WHAT?” One of the pairs of floating armor yelled angrily. “A fuckin book?” He was pretty sure this one was Tommy.

“Not just any book. My notebook keeps all of my memories in it so I don’t forget. And now they know I was talking to you guys.” He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Well, that sucks.” Said the other set of armor. “Why is this any of our concern?”

“The thing is, well, I thought since you guys were my friends and I have been helping you out, you know...”

“Yep, you have been pretty useful to us.” The squeakier set agreed.

“Here’s the thing. I overheard Tubbo and Quackity saying that they have some sort of public punishment for me. It will be during the festival, pretty soon I think since it would replace our plans with Dream. I just want you guys to keep an eye out for me during this whole thing because I’m scared that...”

“Wait wait wait a second. You said Dream isn’t part of the plans anymore? What?”

“Heh?” That one was definitely Techno.

“Oh wait, did I forget to mention that Dream is not coming? Yeah, Sorry. He’s sick apparently. There goes any chance at defeating him today. Really sucks.”

“Homeless man must have caught a cold from sleeping outside too much!” Techno laughed and Tommy joined in. 

“Stupid little ‘omeless man. He’s ‘omless, ain’t got no home!” 

Ranboo wasn’t sure how to respond. Tommy turned back to Ranboo, a bit more serious than seconds ago. 

“Can’t have you homeless. If they exile you, Ranboo, you can come live with us and Philza!”

“Heh? HEY! Tommy, that is my house, not yours! What are you saying! It’s my decision whether or not someone can live with me!” He turned to Ranboo with a suddenly calmer tone. “If they exile you, I guess you could come live with us...maybe. Might be some use for you.”

“Yes! Can I get an exile pogchamp!” Tommy was the only one laughing at “exile pog” and “exile pogchamp” as Tommy repeated it to himself.

“Thank you guys so much, you don’t even know-” 

He was cut off by rapid messages from Tubbo coming through.

“Come back now please”  
“Now Ranboo”  
“Ranboo”  
“Quickly we need u”

“Oh. Apparently, it’s now. Tubbo is calling for me.”

“He is? Well, you better fuckin run mate. Get over there and we’ll be watching the show!”

“See you guys later! Thanks!” Ranboo watched as the pair both pearled off and began running away. He didn’t have time to notice the pair of moving boots on his roof as he joined the group seated in front of the stage.

Tubbo ran up to him and ushered him over onto the stage, where Quackity and Punz were standing. Why was Sapnap swimming in the water below it? And why was Quackity still wearing his butcher outfit? He shrugged off the questions and moved forwards, taking a seat in a suitable chair.

Everyone chatted for a moment, Quackity with Tubbo and the crowd amongst themselves as Sapnap climbed back up onto the stage and took a seat near Punz. He momentarily took out his book to write some notes. He quickly put it away and looked around, finally noticing the boots on the rooftop adjacent, and immediately began typing up a message to them. 

Quackity and Tubbo turned towards him, with Tubbo shaking his head disappointedly. Tubbo took his seat as Quackity cleared his throat and got the attention of the audience.

“Hello everyone! I hope you have been enjoying the festivities so far, yes?” There were some sounds of agreement from the audience. “That’s great to hear! Now, there is a reason we are all assembled in this place, for the final surprise event of the festival. We are here to expose the traitor who has been lurking in our midst.”  
The crowd murmured with surprise and anger. Oh, so it appeared they were going for a “public humiliation” tactic. Fantastic.

“Everybody, give it up for Ranboo!” Quackity sarcastically commented as if they were on some sort of game show and he had won something. But all the things Ranboo got now were negative.

Cries from the audience of gasps and surprise. Lots of “How could you?”, booing, and “He would never”. 

Ranboo stood as Quackity continued his condemning rant. “Yes, it is true. He betrayed his home and country over the friendship of traitors. He has betrayed L’manberg and all of its citizens at the same time. Why would you do this, Ranboo? What possible reasoning could you give for your acts of treachery?” 

If he was going to be outed and shamed in such a manner, he wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“If choosing friends over the country is a crime, then I am guilty. Why is it a crime to choose people over land, over objects? People matter, land doesn’t. Just because I don’t want to fight for whatever new country you align to this week, I am punished? This is ridiculous.” Ranboo turned away from Quackity and to the crowd. “I would choose any of you over L’manberg. I would choose Tubbo over L’manberg any day.” 

He turned back to the butcher beside him.“For crying out loud, I would choose you over L’manberg too, Quackity.”

“That’s your mistake.” He shook his head disappointedly. He looked around and less of the crowd seemed as angry as before, and Tubbo behind him seemed to be feeling a bit guilty himself. “Sapnap let's get this over with.” They nodded and tossed a pair of boots to Quackity, before moving to Ranboo with a potion and a soup.

“This will be your punishment, Ranboo. For being a traitor. First, give Sapnap your armor. It’s against the rules to wear it in L’manberg.” Now, this was just petty. He knew Quackity didn’t like him wearing his helmet when it was raining, but he only did it to prevent the painful but not too deadly effects that water had on him. 

“There.” He gave it quickly and crossed his arms. Now, what was he gonna do, lock him up somewhere? Put him on a cage, on display? Great.

“All you gotta do is drink those two Sapnap has the potion first. That’s your punishment.” Even better. Public torture of some sort? He picked them up and looked at what they were. Some sort of purple-grey potion labeled “Drink this” and some suspicious stew. Ranboo gazed nervously over at Tubbo, who stood and spoke.

“I don’t like this anymore. Maybe we can just put him under house arrest, or something?”

“Yeah, I’d be fine with that.” Ranboo nodded. Being experimented on was most unpleasant, far worse than being locked up for a week would be. 

“Tubbo, the last person who was under house arrest escaped, after being under your supervision. We need to do something harsher, the message obviously didn’t get across the first time. Let me take care of this problem!”

Punz put a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder, and the two walked back to their seats after a moment.

“Go on, Ranboo, we don’t have all night.” He crossed his arms and tapped his feet impatiently on the ground, which were now in the enchanted boots he had been given.

“Well, here goes nothing, I guess.” He downed the potion, which tasted similar to one he had had before, but it mostly reminded him of the strange scent ender pearls had. He felt a chill go through him as he began to feel waves of tiredness spread across him. He crossed his arms and held himself as he gently shivered.

“How do you feel Ranboo?” The way Quackity asked it seemed as if he was genuinely curious.

“I fell pretty terrible.” He looked down at his hands, shivering gently. “I don’t feel right, feel normal anymore. I feel vulnerable. Can I have back my armor please?”

“Hmm. Finish the other one first.”

Ranboo sighed and took out the bowl of stew. It tasted almost like horseradish but was overpowering and unpleasant. As he finished, he felt a sharp pain in his head, causing him to drop the bowl and grab his head instinctively. When he opened his eyes, the world around him had faded into blackness. 

“Wha-Why can’t I see anything, why is everything all black?” He turned around in a circle, trying to see something, anything. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the silhouette of an arm, or more specifically a fist, coming towards him. 

Ranboo felt the pain of a punch to the head as he fell backward.

And then he was falling down, backward, off the front of the stage. Things happened too fast for him to realize what was happening until seconds after it did. 

Terror hit him as he felt the cold enveloping him.

He had fallen.

Backward.

Off the stage.

Into the river below.

The water began to burn his skin immensely as he desperately tried to scream out. Usually, the water didn’t hurt, didn’t burn like this. Not this badly, at least. It must have been that damn potion he drank. Done something to any resistance he did have against its ill effects on him. He tried his best not to concentrate on the pain, instead of concentrating on swimming to the surface. 

He swam backward, his hands over his eyes to stop them from burning and kicking his feet as fast as possible. But instead of reaching the surface, he hit something. More specifically, his shoulder bumped into something cold and hard where air should have been.

Ranboo looked up, putting his hands on it.

It was ice.

There was Quackity, down on one knee above him. His enchanted boots sparkling glinted through the ice as he heard noises coming from above. He was close enough now to overhear bits and pieces.

Quackity was giving some sort of angry speech about consequences and the order of things, staring down through the ice into his eyes. Tubbo was screaming and yelling, along with some of the audience. Ranboo could have sworn he heard Techno’s voice among them as well, but he didn’t really have time to sit around and listen.

He hit the ice as hard as he could as the burning increased every second. He barely had the power in him to raise his fist, let alone put in the strength to try to break it. As he hit it a third time, he could have sworn he saw something…weird. Were Quackity’s pupils always that rectangular?

The man above him stood suddenly and stomped on the ice, knocking him back slightly as he began to choke on the water. The pained enderman wails he let out as he watched bits of his hands begin to disintegrate into the water resonated outside the water. As he sank slowly deeper, his strength to fight back faded, along with his screams. If he had eyelids, he would have closed them, but instead saw something sparking hope into his heart.

Someone had dived into the water below the ice and was swimming towards him.

“Ranboo!” 

It was Tubbo, frantically diving as fast as he could.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t think he was gonna go this far!” Tubbo grabbed onto one of Ranboo’s arms and began swimming upwards. 

“Tubbo?” Ranboo pulled back on Tubbo, stopping him. He turned around and looked backward at him, seeing his hands and feet were almost gone, and his face was starting to fade away too. Tubbo grabbed onto his wrist with disbelief.

“We can fix this, we can fix this!” He frantically wrapped his arms under Ranboo’s and began carrying him towards the surface. 

“You’re a good friend Tubbo. I hope you know that.”

“What?” Tubbo sharply pulled back to look at the person he had been carrying in his arms, only to find a nearly empty suit and crown in his place. 

He held the limp fabric close as their face dissolved away and a message displayed across everyone's vision.

_Ranboo drowned whilst trying to escape Quackity_


	2. Corrosion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We quickly flash over to Technoblade and Tommy's perspective, before the consequences of Ranboo's death is revealed.

#  Dream is sick and everything is worse 

## Corrosion

There was a general yell of shock from the crowd below as Ranboo fell into the water below. 

“Ranboo! What are you doing to him?” Tubbo jumped up to run over to stop them but was held back by Punz as Quackity hopped down, freezing the water’s surface.

“What the fuck...” Tommy whispered to himself, shocked, as Techno gripped onto the sword on his side. “Tubbo...he...he couldn’t have...” His softer surprised tone turned cold as he took out the axe of peace and leaped down off the roof. The crowd was yelling and running around, so no one noticed the floating weapon falling from the roof as he hit the ground hard. “Augh, fuck!” Tommy had hurt his legs, as he was not wearing any armour at the time.

“Tommy, Tommy! What are you doing?!?”

Techno put on his boots and hopped down after him, taking them off seconds after. 

“Put away the axe Tommy! What are you doing?” He stood directly in front of Tommy, holding his shoulder and keeping him from moving towards the water.

“We- I’ve gotta help him, Techno. He’s our friend! He’s helped us, he... he doesn’t deserve this!”

Technoblade frantically glanced around for a moment at the scene around him. Tubbo had nearly broken free from the grip on him, the crowd was panicking, and Quackity was laughing to himself, a cold, maniacal laugh. Something wasn’t right with him. But he didn’t have time to think about that now. He turned back to Tommy.

“Alright, Tommy, listen, I’ll help him. But you gotta get out of here Tommy, I can’t be worrying about you too. Just head back to the house to Phil. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. You gotta run and don’t look back, okay?”

He assumed there was a nod as he handed Tommy a swiftness potion and he ran out of his grip, the particles fading quickly into the distance, sounds of a potion drowned out by a screaming crowd.

“Ranboo!” Technoblade turned to see Tubbo screaming out as he ran and jumped into the water uncovered by ice. Techno sighed as he realized he was going to have to swim. He ran over to the furthest side of the stage and jumped in as to not be seen. Just as he got a few feet away from the pair, he slowed to a stop, as a saddening message displayed across his vision. He placed his armour on as he began to run out of breath himself, staying low enough to not be noticed by anyone above. 

Unfortunately, Tubbo did notice, as the items previously held in Ranboo’s pockets materialized around them. Technoblade grabbed the hilt of his sword in its sheath, ready for a fight, but Tubbo instead nodded solemnly at him, understandingly almost. Techno released his grip and nodded back as Tubbo returned to the surface with the damaged suit and crown.

Techno noticed the all-important book floating down near him, and picked it up. Surely, someone would come to pick up his items? But Ranboo was a traitor. That changed things. So, he quickly swam around, picking all the sunken items off the bottom of the river. As he re-emerged at the opposite end again, he could see a commotion happening over near Ranboo’s home. It was finally daytime again, and he had to take off his armour and down another invisibility potion before walking over to see what it was all about.

“What do you mean you don’t remember?” Tubbo had been surprised by the sudden disappearance of the suit and crown in his arms but was even more shocked by the revived man’s statement. 

“I’m sorry but I don’t remember you. Any of you. Where am I? Is-Is this my house?”

The crowd around them was trying to get close, yelling words of assurance to Ranboo, general confusion, or angry threats aimed at the El Rapids members. It was utter chaos. Tubbo thought for a moment before turning to the crowd and yelling out “Enough! Everyone, listen! Your president is speaking!” The voices slowed to a murmur and the people stilled as he stood in the doorway, in front of Ranboo. 

“Something tragic has occurred today. Something that should have never happened again in our great nation. Do not worry, my people, for those responsible, will face the consequences of their actions. I will go inside now and speak with Ranboo alone, and we are not to be interrupted. All but those responsible are allowed to leave as they wish.” As Tubbo turned to go inside, much of the crowd began to disperse. He didn’t notice the particles out the back window as someone listened in on their conversation.

“You really don’t remember me, Ranboo?”

“Well, a lot of it is coming back now. You, you’re Tubbo, right?”

“Yeah! I’m Tubbo! That’s good! What else do you remember?”

“I-I remember a lot, I think, but it would really help me if I had my memory book. So I could write it down.”

Tubbo checked his pockets but failed to find any book. “Oh no, where is it?” Where could it have gone, he had picked everything up off the surface but… oh. Technoblade must have grabbed it for him. Ugh. It was going to be a pain in the ass to get it back from Techno. “I don’t have it right now but here. I’ll make you a new one, a temporary memory book, alright?” He grabbed some stuff from his inventory and Ranboo’s chests, making a book and quill for him.

“Thanks!” Ranboo took the book, along with the rest of his items, from Tubbo. “Alright, well I know who everyone is now but…Tubbo…”

“Yes?”

“Why am I here? I don’t remember coming here, I just remember talking to Tech- I mean-”

“It’s fine, that’s not what I’m worried about right now Ranboo. You talked to Techno and then did what?”

“I was talking with Techno and Tommy but then I got a message… and then I ran? I think. And then I was here suddenly.”

“You’ve remembered everything else though?”

“Yes, for the most part. Quackity upsets me now for some reason. Tubbo, did I do-Did Quackity do something? To me?”

Tubbo’s gaze fell to the floor. Maybe it was better if he didn’t remember that. “Something…happened, yes, but I think it would be better for you if you didn’t remember that. It would be better if I could just forget.”

“What? Now you’re worrying me.” He walked over and put a hand on the shorter shoulder. “Tubbo?”

“Never let anyone see that book in your inventory, alright?” He looked Ranboo in the eyes seriously as he spoke. “I don’t know how what you remember, but even letting anyone know that you have a book again could be trouble. Don’t leave it anywhere either, keep it in your inventory, alright?”

Ranboo nodded nervously as Tubbo gave his friend a hug. “I’m sorry. I never wanted this.” Before Ranboo could say anything more, he walked over to the door. “I’ll be back. You get some rest, okay?”

“Alright.”

He left and turned to the small group. The crowd generally had left to do their own things, with a few people watching curiously from afar. He crossed his arms and stormed over angrily.

“You went too far Quackity.”

“What do you mean I went to fucking far? I’m sorry Mr.President, but I was sick of everyone betraying us Tubbo. I’m sick of everyone betraying you! He’s a traitor and he deserved that if he was going to think betraying his country was an alright fucking thing to do!”

Tubbo uncrossed his arms. “You seriously don’t see how I would have a problem with this? Was lock up seriously not good enough?”

“No! People keep betraying you and something had to be done!”

“This is just history repeating itself! He decorated the festival! He was murdered in his own decorations!” Tubbo stepped forwards and angrily continued, yelling into Quackity’s face. “Does that not sound familiar? Does that not sound like, maybe a little bit like, maybe that’s happened before? I don’t know if it’s just me who remembers that! Do you realize that it maybe has happened under someone else’s administration? Someone who we swore to never be like!” 

His fingers gripped onto his hair, nearly pulling it out as he looked away for a moment. “Hey, you know, maybe-maybe you should’a blown him up with a rocket launcher, ya know!” Tubbo turned with gritted teeth and weakly punched Quackity in the chest. “Maybe that’ll get the cogs moving in your head a little!” Quackity stumbled back, a flash of remorse going through him before it was hidden again under faked indifference. 

There was silence as Tubbo breathed, in an attempt to regain his composure. He straightened himself and held his hands behind his back before staring into the eyes of his adversaries once again. “You murdered Ranboo, Quackity. You went against my wishes. That’s treason. You should have at the very least come to me, your leader, with this! You stepped way out of line! This was not your decision to make!”

“Well, maybe I did go too far. But the problem is solved now! He doesn’t remember a thing! He’s a clean slate now!”

“That doesn’t solve anything! How do you not get this?”

“No Tubbo! It’s you who doesn’t get it! What are you gonna do now, when someone else comes along and tries to betray you? What are you gonna do then, huh?” He crossed his arms, voice still quite calm.

“Not anything like what you did, that’s for sure!” He pointed a finger accusatively at the other, heightening the tension between them.

“Well, you know what I think Tubbo?” Quackity cracked an uncharacteristically sinister laugh, startling Tubbo. “You know what I think?”

“I think that you don’t deserve to be president anymore, Tubbo. I think you should step down.”

“What?” He just stood there, shocked by the bold statement.

“You’ve grown too fuckin soft, and this country needs a real leader, a real man like me in charge. Lemme tell ya, if I was in charge of this place, you would start seeing some real changes around here. Maybe something would fuckin get done finally.”

Quackity turned to his friends behind him for support. “C’mon guys, back me up here! You agree with me, right?” They both looked uneasy before nodding and agreeing blindly to his statement. Their reactions gave out the obvious reasoning that they had not been listening to a word anyone had said up until now.

“You really want me to step down, and replace me with you, of all people? You’ve got to be joking!”

He crossed his arms and shook his head at Tubbo. “I’m serious, Tubbo. Everyone thinks you’re a laughing stock of a president. Who’s going to take you seriously when you can’t even punish a traitor? Let me tell you, no one is!”

Tubbo crossed his arms and sighed, looking up sorrowfully at Quackity after a short pause. “You’re…You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Nobody’s laughing, Tubbo. This isn’t fucking funny anymore.”

He put his hands on his hips as he continued ranting on to his leader before him.

“I’m supposed to be the clown around here, yeah? The funny guy? Well, I don’t really like being all serious and stuff like this. But lemme tell you somethin. I’ve always been a better leader than you, Tubbo, you know why? Cuz I’m a man, and I know how to fuckin run a country! I’ve already been there, done that, once before!” 

His speech seemed to trail off and make less sense the longer he went on like he couldn’t make up his mind on what to say. His posture worsened as he rambled.

“Imma…fuckin…better president than you’ll ever be! You’re just some kid, and god knows who the hell expected a fuckin kid to know how to run a country? That’s just stupid if you ask me. Look at you, you’re weak. You can’t even fuckin…kill… somebody that…wait, what was I tryin to say again?”

Quackity closed his eyes and shook his head as he straightened himself up again. “Ugh, well, what I was trying to say is you gotta step down, Tubbo. Just do the right thing already, alright? It’ll be better this way.” 

Tubbo looked away, a glimmer of guilt in his eyes. Had he really failed his country, his L’manberg, which he had tried his very best to hold so dear? Was one of his closest advisers really calling for him to give up? After all he had gone through?

“Make someone else the president, Tubbo.”

He shook his head, small at first but building up to a strong no. “Not yet, no. I’ve got to think about this a bit. Please, give me a bit of time before you go do something drastic, alright. This is quite…sudden. For everyone, okay? Please. I don’t want to have to pull rank against you, Big Q. Not now. Not at a time like this.”

The opposing group seemed to generally soften in demeanor at the genuine plead. The others looked away and Quackity scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, I guess. But you need to make the decision by tonight. Everyone from the festival is still around somewhere, and this will need an announcement, probably tomorrow.”

He nodded.“I presume if I say no, you will be making preparations of some sort. Possibly to overthrow me. Right?”

“I really hope it won’t come to that. I hope to hear from you soon.” Quackity turned, seeming solid in his stance as he gently ushered the others away from their leader. 

And then everything seemed quiet as a man stood alone, overlooking the water, while two, a friend and an adversary watched unseen.

Karl didn’t notice it at first. It was a book, lying on the floor in the middle of his library, where no one but him should’ve been. He picked it up carefully, and was about to put it away but opened his eyes wide when he read its title.

“I FUCKED UP”

This couldn’t be good. The book was signed by…HIM? His confusion leads to shock. Had he already forgotten writing entire books now? Or could it have been…him, from another time? 

That was the most likely theory, and he kept reading on, hoping for some answers.

“Karl,

I hope to god you found this because if someone else did, I’m even more screwed than before. I, no, WE fucked up. I just wanted to solve everything, just wanted to fix everything so easily. But it wasn’t that simple, it wasn’t that easy. I should’ve thought about it more, should’ve given it more consideration. Should have put a single “maybe this isn’t such a good idea, messing with time and all” into use and not do this. 

But I did, and now the future is all gone and reality is slowly destabilizing. Events, major events were changed. People didn’t go places they should have, and do things they would have. I thought taking Dream out of the picture for the day would have solved the problem, but it just made things worse. Dream is sick and everything is worse.  
I have to solve this, no, You have to solve this. For the both of us, for all of reality. I will help you a little bit, but there is not much I can do in the future. You will have to do the heavy lifting, and I’ll do what I can to assist. 

This book itself is not only useful in the normal sense, but in also a good way for you. I’ve enchanted it so it blocks time waves, so you won’t go on any trips for a while. (You will get the chance to do so after our mistake is resolved) The second page has a list of locations where I will hide things for you to use. On the third page is a list of major events that had to happen in my world. Try to make as many as possible still exist and reality might survive. I can help you with one of the first ones, so just go down to the cave where you reappear and wait for me. 

See you soon,

Karl”

He slipped the book into his pocket as he tried to process the information that had just flooded into his mind. What had he done? Had something happened, was Ranboo not supposed to die? He shook his head, remembering his nonchalant reaction to the message, simply thinking “Oh, that is too bad, oh well.”. It was stinging inside him now. The immense regret. 

As he slipped down into the dark below, he pulled out the book once again, looking at the top line on the third page. 

“Dream blows up the community house. Tommy betrays Technoblade, and joins Tubbo.”

Oh, that didn’t happen obviously. He would have heard an explosion, even from here. And he hadn’t seen any news in the chats about any of them.

“Dream and Technoblade team up temporarily. L’manberg is completely obliterated.”

What? L’manberg, gone already? He would have certainly known about this. There was definitely a great difference in the timeline already. He probably wasn’t going to manage this any time soon.

“Ranboo moves in with Technoblade and Phil”

Still nothing, and yet still ever stranger. He was about to continue reading when he heard a voice in front of him.

“Those events are pretty different from all this, hey?” It was…Him? But all his clothes were white, almost as if they were drained of colour. He had white goggles on his forehead, and all over his arms and wrist were watches of various types, all ticking out of synch. There were scars all over his face and arms, with black stitches pulling back his clothes together where there had been cuts.

“I’m sorry for what I did. Let’s try to fix it, okay?” The younger nodded, and the older reached into his bag. “Alright. I got you this, it should help you with the next one on the list. I might have had to rob a kid for it, but it will be worth it.”

The figure pulled out an enchanted netherite axe and handed it to the other. He glanced down at the book, only to notice the figure was gone, leaving him alone with the weapon. Karl looked one last time back at his first task.

“Ranboo befriends Technoblade with a gift” 

“What am I gonna do, Ranboo?” Tubbo paced around the floor of Ranboo’s house as his friend rested on his bed. “I don’t know what to do. No matter what happens, someone loses. I lose. This is all my fault.”

Tubbo groaned and slid his back down against the nearest wall until he was sitting on the floor. His hands moved from his face to his side as Ranboo sat up and turned towards his friend. “I don’t know Tubbo, I’m sorry. I’m missing a bit of the picture here as it is with the last few hours being gone, but I don’t think that you should blame yourself for whatever happened.” He patted the empty spot beside him. “The floor isn’t that great of a spot to sit, come here.”

He took Ranboo’s offer, sitting beside him as Ranboo tried his best to comfort him. “You were just doing your job, right? No one can blame you for that, as long as you’re trying your best, that’s all that matters. Heck, I don’t even want to imagine being in your shoes right now. Everyone is putting so much pressure on you to do the right thing, but you’re just a person. I wouldn’t know where to start, I’ve never been president. But you’re a natural leader, and even if no one else does, I just want to say that I appreciate the job you are doing-”

“Wait, Ranboo, you’re a genius! That’s it, that’s the solution! I know how I can satisfy Big Q and his supporters without giving him all the power!” Tubbo interrupted the conversation suddenly, finally looking up at Ranboo into his eyes. The staring, while happy, still made Ranboo slightly uncomfortable. 

“Uhhhh, that’s good to hear. How?” He peeled his eyes away from Tubbo’s energetic stare momentarily as he spoke.

“It’s you, Ranboo! I’m gonna make you the president!”

“Wh-What?”

“They don’t know you have your memories back, so they think you’re basically a new you! They have no idea, and I might have to pull a few strings, but you’re definitely my best option!”

Ranboo stood up, facing away from his friend and rubbing his hands together. His hands were still stinging, they had ever since he woke up a while ago. He figured he could piece together what had happened pretty easily if he wanted to, but he knew there was a reason he didn’t remember it. He had felt the familiar burning sensation carving through his cheeks many times, and maybe his hands would soon scar as well, but he pushed those thoughts aside. It was too painful to think about, and Tubbo needed him, now especially. 

“You want me to be president? Tubbo, I don’t know if I can do this. I…I know I wanted this when I first came here but, I’m not sure anymore.” He turned around to face Tubbo, still looking down at his hands. “I don’t know if I can be as good of a leader as you.” 

“Ranboo, you’re the only one I have that I can trust with this job. When it’s not dealing with situations like this, it isn’t too hard anyway.” Tubbo placed his hands on top of Ranboo’s clasped hands and looked up into his eyes. “Please Ranboo, you’re the only one I have left.”

He definitely wasn’t one to deal with pressure well. He retracted his gaze, but not his hands. “Yeah, sure, I guess I’ll do it for you. But I don’t know what I’m gonna do, I’ve never done this before, and this is all so sudden.”

Tubbo chuckled.“Don’t worry about it, big man, I’m sure you’ll be fine. And besides, I’ll be here for you when you need me, no matter what! So don’t be afraid to pop me a message if you’ve got a dilemma you need solvin.”

“You really mean that? You promise?”

“I promise. It’s the least I can do.” Tubbo smiled, and Ranboo did too.

Sapnap smacked his head against the doorway as he entered the dark room. “What the fuck? Why is it so dark, man, what are you doing here?”

There was a groan from the far corner, as an arm reached up and waved at them from a distance.

“Mierda, close that damn door. It’s too bright.” Quackity groaned as he tried to stand, but fell over against the wall. “Fucking dammit.” 

Sapnap closed the door and pulled out a torch to see, which was also waved at unhappily. He rummaged around his bag for a moment and managed to find some sticks and redstone in the dark. The red light from the torch was only met with a tiny groan as Sapnap moved over near him. He tried to get the best look he could at the situation.

Quackity had a bag of ice on his head, with a couple of empty bottles, looked like healing potions, sprawled around. “I was gonna talk about the shit that happened today, but it seems like you’re really going through something, hey? Seems a bit more important, anyways.”

He chuckled back at the remark, adjusting his seat on the floor to a better position as Sapnap laid down the torch nearby.“Yeah…Couple of days ago I started getting some bad headaches, haven’t really been feeling myself. And then my eyes started aching too, real shitty pain. Thought a potion might get rid of it, but nothing seems to be working. At least the ice and dark is helping a bit.”

“I noticed that. You haven’t really seemed like the same person for the last while. To be completely honest, you were a bit brutal today. Kinda took it a bit overboard, you know?”

He sighed and placed the ice on the floor as he readjusted himself straighter against the wall. “Mmm, yeah. I shouldn’ta done that. Not like that. I don’t know what happened, it was like something came over me. Didn’t realize what I was doing till I did it, you know?”

Sapnap shook his head. 

“Well, it was weird as hell, lemme tell you that. Ugh, it’s getting worse.” He collapsed forwards, hands over his face as Sapnap concernedly held him upright by his shoulders. 

“You need’a lie down, bud?” Quackity shook his head and reached towards the ice nearby.

“Ugh, I’ll be fine, I think. Could you pass me the ice, please?” As Quackity leaned back against the wall again, about to take the ice from his hand, something caught Sapnap’s eye. 

“Wait, the fuck?” he just barely whispered. 

“Wha? What’s wrong?”

“Your hat, take it off.”  
Quackity laughed lightly and shook his head. “You know I can’t just take it off. It’s my signature look!” He took the ice from their hand as Sapnap leaned in closer, trying his best to see in the low light. His focused stare, into his eyes, caused him to smirk and blush. “What, you trynna kiss me? Is that what this is about?”

“No, not right now.” His seriousness caused concern to build in Quackity as well. “Quackity, you’re avian, right? Part bird, yeah?” Sapnap was holding onto his shoulder and looking at his forehead intently.

“Y-yeah. The wings kinda give it away, don’t they? Pretty useless now anyway, though. Why?”

Sapnap touched the side of Quackity’s head, just under the hat, when he suddenly lurched away in pain. “Ow, what the fuck?”

He sat back away and looked Quackity in the eyes, baffled. “Quackity, what type of bird grows horns?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for the long break, I had to deal with some school stuff, but now I'll have more time to finish this! I want to have the next chapter out by next week, but maybe even earlier! Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I plan on writing more very soon, as this story is one I want to tell! Feel free to make art, just tag me with @kitty.kitty707 on insta and @kittykitty707 on Twitter or Tumblr so I can see it and send it some love! If you have theories for what will happen next, feel free to leave a comment! Thanks! <3


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